Greg Fletcher Round Table Final Draft 3/26/13 Media Influences on Gun Control We do not realize it but every

time we turn on the television or radio, the media can be sublimely influencing our opinions on current issues. Gun control and media are usually put together in a similar category, but people do not understand the amount of influence the media has on gun control. But the real question is if the media has been for gun control or against it. In this essay I have gathered some research that shows how gun control and the media have effected politicians and gun manufacturers. I have also done some research on media critics who have looked into the same issue. Politicians have a very important voice and role in the media's influence on gun control. Politicians have a lot of authority on gun control so the media targets them so they will either enforce new gun laws or let the old ones stand. Thomas Kaplan did a report on the New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, passing new gun laws in the state of New York. These new laws did not sound very overbearing because they only limited the amount of ammunition allowed in gun magazines and required a background check on all gun purchasers. Cuomo states that his laws use common sense and therefore are good for the state of New York (Kaplan). Kaplan uses a little bit of bias when he is writing his report that shows that he is in favor of these new laws. This means that whoever reads his article in the New York Times will be persuaded a little bit more to be in favor of these new laws because Kaplan shows how these laws are actually good for the state of New York and that they do not have any negative effects. This is one way that shows how the media can use politicians to influence people about gun control.

Sometimes politicians do not agree with the new gun laws. Jeremy Turnage wrote an article on how South Carolinian Congressman, Jeff Duncan, does not agree with the new gun control laws that have been passed in New York and Colorado. Duncan has actually been trying to get big gun manufacturers in Colorado and New York to move to South Carolina (Turnage). Turnage reports how Duncan is doing this because he wants to save small businesses from being wiped out. The gun manufacturer from Colorado, Magpul, has actually threatened many times to move to South Carolina if the new gun control laws were passed. Now that they have been passed, Magpul will most likely move. It is obvious that gun manufacturers are not going to like the new gun laws, but deserting their state because of them was not foreseen. Turnage writes his article in favor of Duncan. He makes Duncan look like the hero who comes in and saves these small businesses from certain doom. This means that the media can also be against the new gun control laws. Gun manufactures are also a powerful voice on the issue of gun control. The media will use gun manufactures to influence people on gun control. The media will also incorporate outside issues that they connect back to the main topic to try and sway peoples' opinions. One example of this is Nicole Flotteron's article, New Gun Laws could mean Economic Woes for Booming Gun Industry. Flotteron writes how gun manufacturers are doing well and therefore helping our economy greatly. She says how the gun industry added more than 37,000 jobs. She goes on to explain how the gun industry has paid a great amount in taxes and how now because of the new gun laws, people will begin to loose jobs in the gun industry (Flotteron). In this article, the author uses a clever tactic to relate gun control to basically a decrease in the job market and economic decline. This shows how the media is pushing for gun freedom in this article because they are trying to influence people by making them believe that with more gun

control, there will be less jobs and less money in our economy. Flotteron also puts in a direct quote from Joseph H. Bartozzi who is the CEO of Mossberg and Sons. Mossberg and Sons is a well know shotgun and rifle manufacturer in Connecticut that is in threat of being shut down because of the new gun laws to be passed. The quote that Flotteron uses in her article is of Bartozzi explaining how dozens of people and about four million dollars will be lost just by the passing of these laws in Connecticut (Flotteron). Critics of the media are a powerful voice on this issue because they will point out how the media is influencing people on gun control. Sometimes the media is not entirely truthful in what they say about firearms. Many critics have reported on some of these false accusations that the media uses to influence people into thinking that gun control is the only solution. David Lampo works for Cato Institute and has written a few critics on the media. His article, Gun Control: Myths and Realities, he discusses a few false accusations that the media has made on firearms. Lampo writes that a common myth used by the media is that thousands of children die of firearms each year. But Lampo says that this is completely false because only about 150 children die each year in gun related accidents. He also refutes the idea that the Columbine incident occurred because there was a flaw in current gun laws by stating how Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold illegally acquired firearms (Lampo). This article shows how the media sometimes stretches the truth or even blatantly lies to influence people about gun control. This time the media was in favor of gun control, but there are plenty of times when the media shows how they are actually against gun control as well. Dr. Kenneth Dowler, a professor of sociology, took a poll in 1995 that related the amount of media that people were exposed to and their opinions on gun control. He did this by measuring the amount of television and radio that people listened to and then wrote down their

opinions on gun control. His results, for the most part, showed how the more media that the people were exposed to, the more against gun control they became (Dowler). His results went against a lot of peoples' preconceived notions. Some people may say how Dowler's results are not current and so they will not be the same today. But one has to see that the media should have more prevalence in a regular person's life because there are so many new forms of media today. So if anything, Dowler's results would be the same today if not more prevalent. Some media critics believe that the media is completely pro gun control. Larry Pratt, who is the executive director of Gun Owners of America believes that the media is distorted to try and convince people that gun control is a good idea. He writes how the media will only record events that prove gun control is the option for the safety of the American people. He also says that the media does not give the opposing side, people for gun freedom, to voice their opinions and will distort information to make people believe firearms are more dangerous than they actually are. He reinforces his point by writing how the media fails to recognize an important victory for the gun freedom side. The victory that Pratt is referring to is his argument against the San Jose police chief (Pratt). If the media did recognize this victory it would get more people on the gun freedom side. The research I have done shows how both sides of this argument have facts to prove how the media is either pro gun control or against it. It is hard to tell which side that the media is actually supporting because both sides represent their arguments well and have a lot of supporting evidence. I believe it is entirely up to the person who is exposed to these types of media to decide for themselves if the media is pro gun control or pro gun freedom. The research I have done proves how there is not right answer to this argument.

Works Cited: Kaplan, Thomas. "Sweeping Limits on Guns Become Law in New York." The York Times. The New York Times, 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Turnage, Jeremy. "Rep. Jeff Duncan Lobbying to Bring Gun Manufacturers to SC Wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |." Rep. Jeff Duncan Lobbying to Bring Manufacturers to SC - Wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |. WIS, 22 Feb. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. Lampo, David. "Gun Control: Myths and Realities." Cato Institute. Cato Institute, 13 May 2000. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. Dowler, Kenneth. "Media Influence on Attitudes toward Guns and Gun Control." American Journal of Criminal Justice 26.2 (2002): 235-47. Pratt, Larry. "How Media Distorts The Gun Control Debate." Gun Owners of America. N.p., 29 Sept. 2008. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. Flotteron, Nicole A. "The Daily Caller." The Daily Caller. The Daily Caller, 29 Mar. 2013. Web. 04 Apr. 2013. Gun 2013. New